It has come time to move forward for Mark's transplant. Chris and I are reaching out to everyone we know! We have decided to try to find a live donor. We are currently looking for live donors with an O blood type. The positive and negative does not matter you just need to be an O type. We hope to have a list of up to 7 people compiled over the next two or three weeks.
Questions you may have...
How do I find out my blood type?
You can call your primary care doctor. They may or may not have it on file.
You can donate blood...or if you have donated you can find out from where you typically donate.
If you are a women you can call you OBGYN...They typically have it on file!
Here are some preexisting condition that do not allow you to donate:
Age younger then 18 Also they prefer donor to be 25 or older...if you are 18-24 you need to be a family member or close to the family.
Uncontrolled high blood pressure
History of pulmonary embolism or problems with recurrent clots
Bleeding Disorders
Serious Psychiatric Illness
Obesity BMI > 30
Uncontrollable Heart Disease
Chronic Lung Disease with difficulty breathing
History of Skin Cancer
History of Metastatic Cancer
Bilateral or Recurrent Kidney Stones
Decreased kidney function
Certain Infectious Diseases such as HIV Infection or Hepatitis
Relative Potential Barriers:
Diabetes or significant family history of diabetes
Alcohol or Substance Abuse
Who pays for the transplant?
Mark's insurance covers all of the donors medical cost. From your initial blood draw to your post operation appointment. Unfortunately loss of wages is not covered. They hospital stay for a donor is typically 3 to 4 Days at Brigham and Women's in Boston. Then depending on your job you may need a week or two off after surgery. The only thing they ask you not to do after you go home is avoid Advil. Advil filters out of your kidneys.
What if I am a match?
If you are a match after the blood typing comes back you will then be asked to move forward on a medical evaluation. This is an "intense" physical. Most can be done by your primary care. You will also have to meet with the transplant team at the Brigham. They will be the end all to decide if you may donate. There are occasions where you may do well in physical and the team may decide you are not the best fit.
First Lab
Once we have a list of donors there is one day that is set up to have labs done. All potential donors and Mark will need to have the blood work done at Children's on the same day. We will try to work best with everyone and their schedule. On this day I hope to set up a quick meeting with the Transplant Nurse. This will give you the potential donor a chance to hear the full process. At that point you can have all questions answered. After the blood work is done the results are back in about 2 weeks. They will cross match all the blood with Mark's. Typically 25 to 30% of the list will come back not a match.
Random Info:
Women are still able to get pregnant after a transplant.
If you drink or smoke you are required to stop about 8 weeks prior to transplant
Living Donor Transplants are done on the 3rd Thursday of the month.
If you donate and your remaining kidney ever fails you are put on priority. You will go to the top of the list and have a Kidney within hours to couple of months.
What happens if we have more then 7 potential donors?
In this case we will make a list as we are contacted. We will go in with our first 7....there is a chance that no one is the group could be a match, or only a couple. We will then contact the next group.
If you are interested in being a potential donor and you are a O blood type please contact us. Also if you have any question please do not hesitate as well!
We also would encourage you to forward this email to family or friends that may be of interest. We are trying to reach out to as many of you as possible.
We are grateful for the help we have received from all of you in the recent months. Please do not feel obligated to respond to this email or respond with an answer. We know this is a lot of information to take in. As Mark's parents we are hoping for the best possible outcome.
Thank you all so much,
Emily & Chris Kane
enugent73@comcast.net
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